The piece describes an intense, "bruising" work environment, in
which employees are asked to "diplomatically throw people under
the bus," while those suffering personal crises are pushed out of
their positions.

Former White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who in February
joined Amazon as senior vice president for corporate global
affairs, defended his employer
in an interview with "CBS This Morning."

"This is an incredibly compelling place to work," Carney said. "I
think the fundamental flaw in the story is the suggestion that
any company that had the culture The New York Times wrote about,
sort of a cruel, Darwinian or Dickensian kind of atmosphere in
the workplace, could survive and thrive in today's marketplace."

He added: "People could walk away any time they wanted. These are
people who are in as much demand in well-paying industry as
anybody in the world."

Amazon
shared its global headcount during its second-quarter
earnings call in July. As of the end of the quarter, on June 30,
the e-commerce giant employed 183,100 workers.

That's an increase of 18,000 people since the first quarter, not
including contractors or temporary personnel — the biggest
quarterly increase in the company's history.

It's also a 38% increase over the company's headcount at the same
time last year, when it employed a workforce of 132,600 people.

When asked whether the Times article contained any inaccuracies,
Carney
said: "The story is sort of based on the idea that there's
high turnover and attrition, but the facts are that the
attrition, people leaving, cycling in and out of this company, is
completely consistent with other major companies in the United
States."